An Unwilling Ownership
by Lanta
Summary: ABANDONED. When Harry comes to Hogwarts shortly after his eleventh birthday, he finds that money is not all that his parents left him. They also left him a slave, Severus Snape.
1. The Inheritance

**Author's Notes**

The fic starts not long after Harry's eleventh birthday. It is obviously AU, and at present there are no pairings planned, since Harry is only a child. What the pairing might be in the future I don't know yet.

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"Harry, please sit down."

He sat; gazing curiously at the grandfatherly man who had introduced himself as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, wondering what this was all about.

It had been a rather strange few days. First the flock of letters arriving at his home in Privet Drive – 'flock' being the operative word considering that they had been brought by owls – and then the arrival of Hagrid, and the news that he was a wizard. He could still barely believe it, despite it making sense of all the strange things that had happened to him in his life.

"Harry… what I'm about to tell you will no doubt not be pleasant to you, since you have been raised in the muggle world with all of their ethical beliefs – beliefs that I happen to share, at least in regard to this situation. However, it is nothing that either one of us can change."

He frowned, completely confused. "What do you mean, Headmaster? What situation?"

Dumbledore sighed, then said quietly, "Harry, while the muggles in the United Kingdom outlawed slavery a long time ago, I am sad to say that the Wizarding World did not do the same. Slavery is rare, and heavily controlled, but it is still legal."

Harry stared at him in shock and horror, as well a lot of confusion. It pained him to realise that this world he had felt was so perfect was in fact flawed, and in such a way.

"Why… why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Harry, you legally own a slave."

The boy stared at him in disbelief, and he softly explained. "When your mother was at school, one of her classmates was a slave. He belonged to an elderly man who had done his best to treat Severus like an equal - but shortly after he left Hogwarts, his guardian died, and he was passed to a relative who abused him. Your mother found out.

"Lily was horrified. She convinced your father to buy Severus in order to save him. You must understand, Harry, Severus is bound legally and magically into slavery. There was no way that your mother could have freed him."

Harry realised his mouth was open, and closed it quickly. He took in what had been said, and asked weakly, "So when my parents died, I… inherited him? Like a possession, a house or something?" With a spurt of horrified anger, he added loudly, "That's horrendous!"

"Yes, it is," Dumbledore agreed. "However, it is the truth. While you lived in the muggle world, I took custody of Severus, and gave him a job as a teacher here at Hogwarts. However, now that you are part of the Wizarding World, ownership of him automatically reverts to you."

"I…" Harry's words failed him.

The Headmaster gave him a sad smile, and then said quietly, "I'm afraid you have no choice in this, Harry. There is no way to free him; you can either keep or sell him; and if you sold him, there is no guarantee that he wouldn't go to somebody who would abuse him."

Harry winced, and then lifted his head as an idea occurred to him. "So can't I just give him to you?"

"Give? No. You are underage, nobody would allow you to just give away something worth so much money. You could legally _sell_ him to me, but I am afraid, Harry, that I could not afford to buy him."

"Oh." Harry's throat was dry, as he took this in. "Then – don't you know someone else who can? Can't you ask someone?"

"I know very of few people with enough money to buy him, Harry, and those I do I would not ask, for various reasons. Slaves are very rare in the Wizarding World, and thus very expensive. Truly, Harry, you are the best person to own him. I will do my best to make sure that you know how to take care of him."

He looked down, struggling to take all of this in. "Headmaster, when you say slavery… what do you mean?"

"Absolute, Harry. You have absolute and complete control over Severus' life. He owns nothing but what you give him, he can make no important decisions for himself. He is obligated to obey every command you give him however much he may object to it, unless it is in violation of the law. He must also submit himself to any punishment you choose to give him, whether or not he considers it to be justified. He has no legal status except as property, and cannot marry or sign any legally binding contracts.

"Basically, Harry, you could kill him and the Ministry of Magic would do nothing."


	2. Meeting Severus

**Author's Notes**

Thank you so much for your reviews, it's nice to know that people liked the first chapter.

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_Snape bent to continue his chores, feeling his back protest in agony as the whip marks from that morning were stretched almost unbearably. They were probably bleeding again, but he did not have the time to wash them, nor did he have his wand to heal them._

_How did this happen to him? Mr. Jennings had cared so much for him – one of the few people in the world that had – how could he have neglected to make a Will, to ensure that his slave would be provided for? Was his memory truly so bad that he had forgotten that his closest living relative was a Malfoy?_

_He winced as he remembered his recent trip to the Black family house, the punishment session that had occurred in front of his mistress's relatives. At least Sirius Black had not been there to see his humiliation – but Lily Potter had, dropping off something belonging to her husband's friend. She had doubtless told Potter all about it – was he at home gloating now? Delighting in his old rival's pain?_

_He realised he had been slacking, and quickly returned his concentration to his task. He could not afford any more punishments right now._

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"I must ask you, Harry. Does Severus have your permission to continue teaching here at Hogwarts?"

Harry blinked, and then said cautiously, "If he wants to, then of course, Professor."

"Good! I have no doubt that he does. I will bring you a contract to sign later. I assume you have figured out that there will be some difficulty in your own lessons? He obviously cannot have any authority over you, even in the classroom. I may perhaps be able to get a substitute to teach first year Potions; otherwise, I suppose he could give you private tutorial sessions.

"Anyway, I believe he is here now. Come in, Severus!" This last was called loudly in the direction of the entrance to the office.

The man that came in was fairly tall, with long black hair and equally long black robes. He looked deceptively imposing – deceptively, because it was an illusion. He held no power here, not in his master's presence.

The instant he entered, his eyes went to Harry, flicking up to his forehead for confirmation of his identity. As soon as he had established that it was indeed Harry Potter, he fell to his knees, lowering his head to the floor.

"I vow to serve and obey you at all times, my master. I am yours, to do with as you wish."

After this formal greeting and obeisance, Harry was not entirely sure what to do. He glanced at Dumbledore, who said quietly, "Give him permission to stand, Harry."

"Oh!" Harry was embarrassed, and slightly ashamed. "Uh - you may stand."

Severus rose smoothly to his feet, keeping his head bowed in front of his master.

"Um… you can look at me, too."

The head lifted, and his expression, which in Dumbledore's memory was usually blank, or perhaps slightly sneering, was in this case, tentative, unsure. Would this master be like his mother, like Lily Potter? Caring and considerate? Or would he be more like Lucius Malfoy, delighting in the other's pain? Either way, Severus had no choice but to serve him.

The way that Harry was regarding him was a great comfort to Snape. Not superior, derisive and gloating, but almost as tentative and unsure as himself, with a hint of sadness. Like his mother, then. He almost sighed with relief.

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"Harry has agreed to allow you to carry on teaching, Severus," said Dumbledore, the twinkle back in his eye.

Oh, joy. Still, it was not as if being a slave brought him a great variety of career choices, and it did mean that he had some limited authority over free people - an excuse to practice his insults and give out detentions. There were worse things in life.

"Thank you, Master."

"Um – Severus – you can call me Harry."

He bowed his head slightly in apology. "I am sorry, Master. I am forbidden by law from addressing you informally in front of other people. I may if you wish it call you by your first name in private, so long as I am not being punished at the time."

"Oh." The mention of punishment was somewhat disturbing. "Oh – okay then. Please do."

They were by now all seated, and both slave and master were feeling wholly uncomfortable with the situation. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was rarely uncomfortable about anything.

"Harry," said the Headmaster, passing him a thick book, "I have here a book all about the laws governing Severus, and also the magic placed upon him. I suggest that you read it as quickly as possible.

"I also have some forms here for you to sign. Here is the contract to allow him to remain as our Potions teacher… and here's one allowing him a small allowance to buy necessities, from your account at Gringotts-"

"Gringotts?"

"Ah I forgot; you have not yet been to Diagon Alley. Gringotts is the Wizarding bank Harry; you have a sizeable fortune there that you inherited from your parents. You may of course choose to alter the amount that I have been giving to Severus, or to get rid of it completely…"

"No, he can keep it."

"Good. Here's one giving Severus permission to use his wand when not in your presence, and here's…"

The documents continued, and Harry had his first experience with using a quill to write with. It felt strange, very unlike the pens and pencils that he had used in the muggle world.

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Afterwards, at Dumbledore's direction, Snape took his master down to his quarters, where they could talk privately for a while.

"You do of course have the right to enter these quarters whenever you wish Master, and to do with them whatever you choose," he said as they entered the rooms.

"Oh." Harry looked at him, and then asked the question that had been burning in his mind for a while. "Severus – I don't mean to offend you, but as a slave, how do you teach, let alone be head of Slytherin house? Do they not know what you are?"

Snape sighed. "Master, you should not be worried about offending me. You may speak to me however you wish."

"Master? I thought you didn't have to call me that in private?"

Severus lowered his head. "You ordered me to call you Harry. I apologise for forgetting. You may punish me if you wish."

"No! I didn't order you, I asked you, and I'm not going to punish you for something like that!"

Snape sighed. "You cannot ask me to do something Harry, I am your slave. I am obligated to follow your wishes, however you may phrase them. I do thank you for sparing me punishment.

"In answer to your question, the students are well aware of my status as a slave. It would be impossible to keep it a secret, as any pure blood student would recognise this mark." He held out his hand, the back of which was marked with something that looked like a tattoo.

"As you can see, I am branded, and to cover up the mark of my slavery would be illegal. This is not as much of a problem as you might think. Once a student has received enough detentions and lost enough house points, it is made clear to them that treating me as anything other than a school Professor is a grave mistake."

He paused, and then continued softly, "You are of course the exception to that rule. Were I to attempt to treat you as anything other than my master, you would be well within your rights to punish me severely, even publicly."

Harry blanched. "When you say severely… you mean whipping or something. Corporal punishment."

"Yes, Master, although many masters prefer to use spells rather than muggle means of chastisement."

"And you'd just… let me do that to you. Even in front of your own students?"

"I would have no choice. It is your right to punish me. And please forgive me, I once again forgot to use your first name."

"Oh – you can just call me whichever you like. I suppose I'll have to get used to hearing 'Master' in public anyway."

"Thank you, Harry."

"So… what do we do now?"

"I believe you should spend some time reading the book Professor Dumbledore gave you," said Severus quietly. "In the morning I am to take you to Diagon Alley to buy your school supplies."

"Oh… good. Do you know where I can sleep tonight? I'm not going back to the Dursleys' am I?"

"I do not believe so, at least not for tonight. I will contact the Headmaster and find out for sure."

"Thank you." Harry paused. "Severus… I just want you to know… I hate this. Slavery's wrong… it's evil. Isn't there _any_ way that I can free you?"

"No, there isn't, Master. I am bound to slavery for life. I… thank you for wishing it though. Your mother… your mother hated slavery just as passionately as you."

"I'm glad. I would have hated it if she'd actually wanted to keep you as a slave." He paused. "I don't know much about my parents, but I'd like to think that they were good people."

"She was, Master."


	3. Lucius Malfoy

**Author's Notes**

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I'm grateful. Please keep it up; I can really use all the criticisms and ideas. Anyone who asks a question or makes an interesting comment will get a reply.

Thank you especially to those people who pointed out to me that in JKR's books, Sirius actually moved out of his home, when my last chapter had him still living there. Well, this is AU… but basically, I forgot, lol. I've sorted that out in this chapter.

I know Harry's acting very maturely for an eleven-year-old, but I do think it makes sense – he's been treated like a servant for most of his life, he would hardly rejoice in somebody else being a slave. And if he's intelligent enough to save the philosopher's stone at eleven, then he's bright enough to understand the situation with Severus!

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_James and Sirius sat there staring at Lily in disbelief._

"_I can't believe it… I mean, obviously we knew he was a slave, but we just thought… he's always seemed so confident, been so healthy. I thought he must have had a good master, someone who treated him right… spoiled him, even."_

"_Apparently he's only recently come into Malfoy's possession," said Lily grimly._

"_My family were really watching him being… and enjoying it? I knew they weren't nice people, but to do something like that… I don't think I can live with them anymore, James."_

"_Then don't, Padfoot. Move out. I've been telling you to for years."_

"_He should," said Lily. "And we need to get Snape out of there, James."_

"_Lily, even I don't want Snape to suffer like that, but what do you expect us to do? Do you really think Malfoy would sell? Slaves are so rare, he's probably jumping up and down with excitement now that he owns one."_

"_Well, we have to try. James, you have that book he's been trying to buy off you for years. Maybe that's enough incentive for him if money isn't."_

"_That's not a bad idea actually," said James thoughtfully. The book wasn't particularly dangerous, just old and rare, and the only reason that he had previously refused to sell it was his hatred for the prospective buyer._

"_If you don't have enough money, I'll chip in," said Sirius grimly. "Merlin knows I can't stand Snape, but after what my family did to him, it's the least I can do."_

_Lily closed her eyes, feeing sick as she once again saw the sight of Severus Snape laid out naked on the floor of the Black family kitchen, trying his hardest not to scream in agony._

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"Why did all those people know who I was?"

Snape sighed. Obviously no one had yet explained to his master about the Dark Lord and the death of his parents. He answered simply, "You're famous in the Wizarding World."

"Famous? Why? I've only known it existed for a few days!"

"If you permit me, I will explain it to you at a later date, Master."

"Um, okay. So how do we get onto Diagon Alley?"

Snape answered him by tapping his wands on the bricks in front of him. Harry gasped in amazement at the appearance of the archway, and the cobbled street behind it.

"Wow!"

The expression of amazement reminded Severus that not only was his new master new to the Wizarding World, but that he was also only eleven years old. He'd never belonged to a child before - there was something not quite right about having your life controlled by someone not yet old enough to control their own.

They made their way down the alley, with Harry reading off his shopping list from his Hogwarts letter. They made their way towards Gringotts, but when they were only halfway there they came face to face with someone Severus would far rather have avoided.

"Well, well, Severus Snape. And this must be… Harry Potter. _So_ good to meet you, Mr. Potter. I see that you have already discovered the joys of slave owning. Oh, how impolite of me. I'm Lucius Malfoy."

To Snape's satisfaction, Harry looked distinctly unimpressed by the introduction, greeting the older man courteously but with obvious disdain.

"I used to own your slave, you know. Inherited him off my uncle. Good quality, but badly trained. If only I'd had him longer… but never mind. Perhaps your parents taught him what I could not?"

"Excuse me," said Harry frostily, "but we really must be going. I have a lot of shopping to do."

"Ah, of course. Do look out for my son at Hogwarts, Mr. Potter. He would no doubt be a good acquaintance for you."

They made there way quickly to the bank, and once they had reached the entrance, Harry muttered quickly, "Remind me to avoid his son at all costs."

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In his office in Hogwarts, Dumbledore was sucking on a lemon drop, with Professor McGonagall sitting across from him sipping tea.

"This cannot be good for the boy, Albus. And for Severus, to be owned by a child… is there no way that you can retain custody of him until Mr. Potter comes of age?"

"I'm afraid not, Minerva. And I am fully confident that Harry will not abuse his control over Severus."

"Well, do you at least know how the child is to be taught Potions?"

"Ah, yes. I've managed to convince Horace Slughorn to visit the castle once a week to teach; however, he remains stubborn that he cannot spare the time for a second lesson. Therefore, Severus will have to give Harry private lessons."

"That is hardly fair to the other children, Albus."

"My dear, Rosie Lilliput in third year has a mother who is a famous Herbologist; we can hardly fault her for gaining extra tuition from her parent."

"It's not quite the same, Albus."

"Perhaps not, but we have little choice. Harry must be taught Potions, and he cannot be a part of the main group. I will ensure, of course, that all of his assignments are marked by Horace."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Albus. This kind of power over another person could easily corrupt the child."

"I fear many things, Minerva, but that I do not fear. I have faith in young Harry."

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"_What on earth makes you think I would sell him, Potter?"_

_James just lifted his eyebrows and withdrew the thick leather-bound book from his bag. Lucius's eyes widened with surprise, and then something approaching lust._

"_My dear Potter. If I had known that you desired a slave so much, I would have offered him to you many weeks ago!"_

"_It's not me who wants him," said James. "It's Lily."_

_He sneered. "The mudblood wants a slave, and her blood traitor husband is willing to part with his prized possession to get it for her? How pitiful."_

"_Do you want the book or not?"_

"_Oh, I do, of course. You dear wife can have him." He turned, and imperiously commanded a nearby house-elf to fetch "the slave"._

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_James was hard pressed to keep his face blank when he saw the state that his former school rival was in. His face was badly bruised, his clothing torn, and he walked with a slight limp. His eyes widened with confusion as he saw James, and then he fell to his knees in front of his master._

_Lily, who had previously remained quiet, came forward as Lucius retrieved a set of papers from his desk. He signed them with a flourish, and then she bent to do the same._

_Severus gave a gasp as he realised that they were his ownership papers._

"_So, Severus, you're going to be owned by the wife of your enemy. Doesn't that just fill you with a warm happy feeling? I know it does me."_

_Severus just lowered his head, torn between relief at no longer belonging to this monster, and horror at being at the mercy of the person who had bullied him for years._

"_It's done." Lily straightened up, the newly signed documents in her hand, and Severus felt the tingle of magic that signified his change of ownership._

"_Come on then," said James, desperate to be out of there. "Goodbye, Malfoy."_

"_Potter."_

_They left, Severus trailing dismally behind them._


	4. Diagon Alley

**Author's Notes**

Thank you once again for all the reviews. I know I'm updating a lot at the moment; make the most of it, because it certainly won't last, lol.

I have to admit; I'm having to sit here with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on my lap, reminding myself all about Diagon Alley, lol. I really must re-read the book sometime; it's been ages since I have.

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_They Apparated to St. Mungo's, where they found that slaves automatically went to the end of the queue. They sat down in the waiting room, sipping on hot drinks. _

_James and Lily talked quietly, discussing arrangements such as where Snape was to sleep, while Severus cautiously watched his new mistress, trying to work out what was expected of him_.

"_Lily Potter," called a staff member eventually. Great. He didn't even get an identity, save that of being his owner's property._

_The examination did not take long, and then he submitted wordlessly to the healing spells, drinking the two potions he was given. Meanwhile, Lily signed the scroll that was handed to her, paying for the potions, as slaves did not merit free medicine._

_When it was over, Severus felt truly healthy for the first time in months. Nevertheless he was nervous, worried about what his new owners had planned for him, although he outwardly showed no fear._

_They Apparated once more, this time arriving outside of the Potters' home. Sirius greeted them inside the house, looking surprisingly relieved to find his rival looking well._

"_I've bought some things for him, and I've also managed to buy a couple of books on slavery," he said, gesturing to the bags sitting at the side of the hallway._

"_Good. Malfoy didn't give us any clothing for him." Lily turned, and studied her new possession. It made Severus feel uncomfortable, as if she could see through all the walls he so carefully put up._

"_What do you wish of me, Mistress?" he asked reluctantly._

"_Nothing, Severus. I only bought you to get you out of there. Nobody should be treated like that."_

_He stared at her in disbelief. Oh, he wasn't surprised that she felt that way, but for Potter to go along with it… he knew how expensive he was. Potter would have had to pay a phenomenal amount to buy him. _

_Obviously Lily Potter wasn't a submissive little housewife by any means, if she had forced him into spending such a great deal of money on his former school rival._

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Coming out of Gringotts Bank, Snape couldn't help feeling a little jealous at how rich his master evidently was. After all, having been a slave since birth, he had never had more than a small allowance, barely adequate to buy his necessities.

True, he had been spoiled by his first master, most likely as an attempt to make up for his slave status, but it had been through gifts, not money. Lily had also provided for him with goods, rather than finances. Dumbledore had made sure that he had enough to live on during Harry's infancy, but it was after all not his money that he had been giving away.

Perhaps his new master would see fit to raise his allowance at some point. It was not impossible, but it was unlikely to happen yet. Harry was still too new to the Wizarding World to be aware of how small the amount of money that he was giving to Severus was. And Snape had absolutely no right to tell him.

"I suggest that we get your school robes first, Master," Snape murmured. "Madam Malkin's is just over here."

They went in, and Severus stood respectfully to one side as Harry tried on his black robes, gloves, cloak and pointed hat. Madam Malkin glanced over at him, but he simply held up the back of his hand with its tattoo, and she said nothing.

The uniform purchased, they stopped briefly at the apothecary, where Snape, naturally in his element, knew exactly which ingredients to buy for his master. He also asked for, and received, permission to buy a few items for his own stock.

After this, they headed for Ollivander's (Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC). In there, Harry was once more confused by the way that the storeowner instantly recognised him.

"And Severus Snape… do you belong to Mr. Potter now? Yes, I remember when your previous owner brought you in for your first wand… ten and a half inches, mahogany, wasn't it? Now, your mother Mr. Potter, her wand was ten and a quarter inches…"

Harry went through a fair amount of wands before finding his perfect match. Being told that its brother had caused his scar merely added to his determination to have Snape explain exactly what had happened in his past.

They went next to buy parchment, ink and quills, followed by a trip to the bookshop, as the other items Harry needed would be far too heavy to carry around Flourish and Blotts. Upon finding that his master was very interested in several of the books in the shop, Snape recommended a couple of texts which would be interesting, but fairly basic for somebody new to the magical world. As they waited at the counter, he informed Harry that as well as having the Hogwarts library at his disposal, he also owned all of the books in Snape's chamber, and could consult them whenever he wished.

As the servant, Snape carried all of their purchases, leaving Harry free to examine various displays in shop windows, especially the one displaying a number of broomsticks, each hovering several feet into the air.

Eventually they came to the shop where he would buy his cauldron, telescope, brass scales, and glass or crystal phials (Snape recommended crystal). As they entered, they could not help but notice the other people shopping there – they, together with Harry himself, stuck out as being the only people in Diagon Alley to be wearing muggle clothing.

Upon seeing what he was looking at, a bushy-haired girl came over to him. "Are you going to be in your first year at Hogwarts too?"

"Um, yes, I am. I'm Harry Potter."

Obviously she had not yet heard of him as she simply smiled and answered, "Hermione Granger. Aren't you _excited?_ We're going to the bookshop next, and I can't wait to get my schoolbooks… I want to see if there's a book there on Hogwarts, and maybe one with an introduction to the Wizarding World…"

She blabbered on ecstatically for a while longer, barely seeming to breath between sentences. Harry was actually quite impressed at her ability to speak without stopping, although he couldn't help thinking that she was far too much of a workaholic and needed to get a life.

"If you wish to read about Hogwarts," Snape interrupted smoothly, "the school's library has a comprehensive volume which should satisfy even your thirst for knowledge, named Hogwarts: A History. I do not recommend that you attempt to buy it for yourself, as it is somewhat expensive."

"That sounds brilliant! Is the library at Hogwarts big? Can we take a lot of books out at once?"

"It is fairly sizable yes, and you may take out up to four books at once in your first year."

"Did you go to the school then, Mr… Potter, is it?"

Snape flinched almost imperceptibly. "My name is Professor Snape. I am the Potions teacher at Hogwarts, and may or may not be teaching you this year Miss Granger."

"Potions! That's brilliant… can you recommend a good book for me to buy on the subject, other than the _Magical Drafts and Potions_ on the set books list?"

Snape wearily answered her, impressed by her exuberance and yet wishing deeply that she would just shut up and go away. Merlin, he hoped Slughorn would be the one to teach her… although it might be pleasant to teach someone who actually cared a little about the subject, he supposed.

Then again, she'd surely never be Sorted into Slytherin, which would mean giving points to another house, something he generally despised.

Merlin. Harry might not be in Slytherin either, and he could hardly be prejudiced against his master's house. And if he _was_ sorted into Slytherin… well, that would create a whole new barrel of problems. Heads of Houses had a lot of authority over their house members, and he could _not_ have any control over the person who legally owned him.

Harry finished his purchases, and left the shop, saying goodbye to the enthusiastic girl, and her somewhat quieter parents. He now had only one thing left on his list – an animal.

They entered Eeylops Owl Emporium, Harry having decided that cats were far too temperamental, and that he just plain didn't like toads. He took his time in the shop, delighting in the beautiful birds surrounding him, while Snape, who had little interest in such things, just stood quietly holding the bags. It was not his place to hurry his master.

The owl Harry finally selected was a gorgeous snowy one, the two of them having taken an instant liking to one another. The newly named Hedwig also gave Severus an affectionate nip on the finger, for which he sent her a fierce glare. She seemed completely unperturbed by it.

By this time Harry was feeling rather tired, and so they used the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace to Floo back to Hogwarts. Severus went through first, placing all of Harry's purchases on the carpet, and then caught his master as the eleven-year-old stumbled and nearly fell after his magical journey.

"What now?" asked Harry quietly.

"I believe that you are to return to your family in the morning, and stay there until term starts," Severus told him. "You can spend tonight in the same room as before. I suggest that we eat now Master, you look as if you need the energy."

"I think I do." Harry frowned. "But when we've eaten, I want you to tell me what happened to my parents – I'm beginning to think they _didn't_ die in a car crash. I want to know how I got this scar, and why everyone seems to know my name!"

"As you wish, Master."

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"About twenty years ago, a man began recruiting followers," Snape told him quietly. "He believed in the superiority of purebloods and hated muggles and muggle-born wizards and witches. His group, the Death Eaters, tortured and killed ruthlessly. He wanted power, and he came very close to getting it."

"Who was he?" asked Harry.

"In general we do not speak his name, Master."

"I want to hear it."

He sighed, and lowered his eyes submissively. Reluctantly he forced out, "His name was Voldemort, Master."

He paused, and then continued. "My previous owner, Lucius Malfoy-"

"The man we met this afternoon?"

"Yes. He was a Death Eater."

Harry's eyes widened. "Then why isn't he in jail?"

"Malfoy is rich and influential, Master, and he used his influence to secure his freedom. He claimed to have been acting under Imperious – a mind control curse, and one of the Unforgivables. I know that his claim is not true, but the word of a slave means nothing."

He breathed deeply, closing his eyes for a few seconds. "During the time that I belonged to him, I was forced to go along to some of the Death Eater meetings, and even on occasion to do the Dark Lord's bidding. The memories I possess are not pleasant."

"Oh. Um… I'm sorry."

"You have no need to be Master, it was hardly your fault. I sometimes wonder if the Dark Lord punished Lucius for selling me; after all, I had been privy to secret information, which I then shared with your mother.

"Anyway Harry, for some reason that is unknown to me, the Dark Lord targeted your parents. By this time I had been sold to them, and when they went into hiding they placed me in Dumbledore's custody."

Harry asked quietly, "He killed them didn't he?"

"Yes. He also tried to kill you… but for some reason, it didn't work. You are the only known person to have survived the Killing Curse. More importantly, when it failed, it somehow rebounded onto him. He is either dead, or weak and presently unable to return. In either case, he was defeated – by a one-year-old child.

"That is why you are famous."


	5. A History of Slavery

**Author's Notes**

Thank you again for your reviews. I'm glad people are enjoying the story.

Question for you all. Would you prefer that Severus accompany Harry on the Hogwarts Express as his slave? Or do you think that, as a teacher, he should be waiting at the school?

----------------

_Severus sat on the bench outside of the house that had until just a few hours ago had belonged to his master, Mr. Jennings. He looked up as a Ministry official came over to him._

"_You're Jennings' slave, Severus Snape?"_

"_Yes, sir," he answered. "Do you know what's going to happen to me, please?"_

"_Your master never made a Will. You and all of his other property will default to his closest magical relative. Until we find out who that is, you will have to stay in the Ministry's possession."_

_He flinched. He had known since he was a small child that he was property, but to have it said here, in the garden that had been his sanctuary, was painful and humiliating._

_He wondered who his new master would be. Mr. Jennings had no immediate family still alive, so whoever it was would most likely be a cousin of some description. _

_He stood up, obediently following the other man inside, to the fireplace where they would Floo to the Ministry. He would never have admitted it, but this was one of the few times in his life so far that he truly felt afraid._

----------------

Harry lay in bed that night, reading the book that Dumbledore had given to him. So far, most of what he had read was the history of the slave trade, and he had finally found out why it was that slaves were so rare.

The main reason was that after slavery had been made illegal in muggle Britain, there was an increase in abolitionist thinking in the Wizarding World. It made sense to Harry; after all, muggle-borns and others with contacts in the muggle world would be influenced by muggle ideas and ethics.

Abolitionists here had had no success in outlawing slavery, but they had managed to get a law passed that said no free person could be enslaved. They could do nothing about the people born into slavery as it was automatic from conception, but what they could do was buy slaves, make sure they were treated well, and if possible convince them not to have children.

After over one and a half centuries of this practice, slavery had dwindled dramatically, and those slaves that were left were not on the market, being owned by families with no wish to sell. Some slave owners had started purposefully breeding their slaves for auction, but they kept this activity to a minimum. After all, it was the very rarity of the slaves that made them worth so much.

He began reading the chapter on the laws governing the behaviour and treatment of slaves. Apparently, Snape could not purposefully physically or magically harm another human being unless it was in defence of his master or another free person. This was written into the slavery bond controlling him; even an order from his master could not overrule it. The master could define the meaning of 'defence' though, so theoretically Harry supposed that Snape could make a pre-emptive strike if Harry himself allowed it.

He read though a few more of the laws; places that a slave was not allowed to go unless in the company of his master, activities that he was not legally permitted to take part in. In court a slave's testimony could only be given under veritaserum, and only with the permission of his owner (which of course would be why Snape had never testified against Malfoy, as his owner had been a small child at the time).

The penalties against even mild law breaking were incredibly harsh, and almost all consisted of corporal – or even capital – punishment. Many of the punishments would be performed in public, which made him feel slightly sick.

In contrast, offences against slaves were generally treated as fairly minor. A person killing a slave would not even be considered to have committed murder. The slave owner had perfect right to end his property's life if he so chose, and if any other person was responsible he could be put up on charges of destruction of property – a serious crime, since slaves were so expensive, but hardly on par with murder.

Feeling vaguely nauseous, Harry put the book down and rolled over, intent on falling asleep. There was only so much that he could cope with at any one time.

----------------

Snape lay awake in bed, his mind dwelling on his new master. He felt confident that Harry would not purposefully mistreat him, but he was still only eleven, hardly of an age to have responsibility for anyone, let alone a man old enough to be his father.

It was painful, belonging to someone new to the Wizarding World, new to slavery. Telling Harry about the laws, about his status and all that it entailed, refreshed it in his mind, and made it hurt, even though he had lived with it for his entire life.

He had no memories of his biological parents; he had been taken off his mother soon after she had finished breastfeeding, and he had no idea who his father had been. He hoped that it wasn't an arranged 'breeding', or worse, rape on the part of his mother's owner, but he had no way of knowing for sure.

His first master had been a good man, who had bought him in the womb, and had raised him almost as if he were his own son. Spoiling him to the extent that he became almost conceited, despite his legal status as property.

He did have one thing of his mother's - a letter, given secretly to his master to be passed on to him as soon as he learnt to read well enough to understand it. In it, she said how desperately she would miss him, but how happy she was that he would be taken care of. She said that she believed Mr. Jennings would treat him well, and that she hoped that he would never have to truly experience what slavery felt like.

He had looked for her once, after the war and with Dumbledore's help, but it had turned out that she had died, just a few years before. Her life, it seemed, had not been easy, but she had at least been spared the rough treatment that some owners gave their slaves. That Malfoy had given him.

It was a good thing that permanent injury decreased a slave's value. If it hadn't, he dreaded to think how much worse things would have been for him.

----------------

_The cane came down, crashing violently against his already brutalised legs. He screamed, feeling pain worse than he ever had before. Lucius stood over him, his wand controlling the cane's movements, a raised eyebrow the only expression on his face._

"_Obviously, my dear relative did not train you properly. You will not speak to me in that way ever again, or you will find that a caning is mild compared to what your punishment will be then."_

_The cane rose again, and then slammed harshly into his thighs, hitting the tender flesh that must by now be bright red. At least it had not yet broken the skin. He doubted that he would be able to say that for much longer._

----------------

"Do you have everything you need Master?"

Harry glanced around. Most of his new possessions were remaining in Severus' quarters until the start of the new school year; after all, they would be of little use at the Dursleys'. His new owl was being left in the care of Hagrid, the gamekeeper who had first introduced Harry to the Wizarding World. He had kept a few of his new books in his trunk, along with his wand and a set of school robes to wear on the first day of term.

"I think so, yeah. Um… how am I getting there?"

"Severus will Apparate you," said Dumbledore with a smile. "It is a magical means of transportation which will take you only a few seconds. You may feel a little uncomfortable on your first trip, but it will be over quickly."

"Oh. Okay. Sounds fun!" The child in Harry had come forth after he thought about what Dumbledore had said.

"If you will hold on to me, Master," Snape requested quietly, moving to hold the large trunk.

Harry obeyed, and he felt a sudden rush of magic, and then realised that he was standing in the front hallway of number four, Privet Drive - and that both Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were standing in the entrance to their living room, gaping at him.

"Who are you?" Vernon demanded angrily of Severus.

"Severus Snape, sir," he answered quietly. "Your nephew's slave."

"Slave?" The man gaped, but Petunia seemed surprisingly unfazed.

"I heard that my sister bought one. Slavery's still legal in _their_ world."

Vernon erupted, a total condemnation of slavery that was ironic, considering his own treatment of his nephew. He managed to insult Harry, Snape and the Wizarding World as a whole in just about every sentence he uttered, and the words _freak_ and _freakish_ were repeated constantly.

Snape was astonished at seeing the way that his master's own family was treating him. This was the boy who had – somehow – defeated Voldemort, the child of heroes who had fought and died bravely. And more than that, he _was_ a child, an eleven-year-old boy, and a blood relative of this man's wife, entrusted to his care. How could he treat him like this?

And yet, he knew that there was nothing he could do. He could not attack any free person, let alone his master's legal guardians, and he had no right to take his master away from these people, as much as he might wish to do so.

"Just go," instructed Harry quietly. "I'm used to it."

"Master-"

"Really. I'll see you on the first of September."

He bowed his head, knowing that he could not disobey. "As you wish, Master."

He sent one last worried glance at Vernon, and then Apparated away, determined to seek out Dumbledore and find out exactly why his master was being left with these awful people.

----------------

"_Here's your room. Feel free to redecorate it if you want to. The bathroom's across the hall; you'll have to share it with Sirius until he finds his own place to live."_

"_Thank you, Mistress." He wasn't desperately happy about sharing anything with Black, but it was a decided improvement over the small toilet and sink he'd had inside his cell-like room at Malfoy Manor._

"_You can call me Lily, Severus, at least in private."_

"_Thank you, Lily."_

"_The kitchen's on the ground floor, pretty much straight underneath this room. You can feel free to make your own breakfasts and lunches but we have dinner as a group, usually around seven pm."_

"_Thank you ma'am."_

"_Okay, I'll let you settle in. If you need anything, please don't be afraid to ask any of us. I know you and James don't get on well, but he won't hurt you, and he will give you anything you ask for."_

_Severus wasn't too sure of that, but he couldn't exactly say as much. He bowed slightly; watching as she left the burgundy bedroom that now belonged to him. He put the bags of shopping on the bed, wondering exactly what Black had bought for him._

_Even if the bag contained spotted pink and yellow robes, he would just have to cope with them. Anything was better than being owned by Lucius Malfoy._


	6. Term Begins

**Author's Notes**

Thanks once again for all your reviews, especially to those few of you that have reviewed multiple chapters.

People seemed to be divided about my question about the Hogwart's Express last time, so I've settled for a compromise, as you will see in this chapter. Just so you know, I'm not intending to follow the events in the books too closely, but there are certain things that I think need to be included.

I'd also like to put forward a little challenge, if there are any fanfic writers reading this. There are far too few slave fics out there with Harry as the Master, so my challenge is: _Write a story of at least 2000 words where Harry is a slave owner_. If anyone fancies taking me up on it, please send me an email. If you need any help with plots, I have lots of ideas.

----------------

"_Come here, slave."_

_He flinched at the term of address, but silently stood up and followed the man out of the cell that he had been staying in for the last two days. Maybe he would finally found out who his new owner was._

_They entered a large, comfortable-looking office, and he stopped short as he recognised one of the men standing there. No. It couldn't be. Surely he was there for some other reason._

_His master wouldn't have left him to Lucius Malfoy. He couldn't have._

----------------

Snape glared in the general direction of number four, Privet Drive. He had tried more than once over the past few weeks to persuade Dumbledore to let Harry stay at Hogwarts until the start of term, but he had been gently refused.

He walked up the driveway, feeling uncomfortable in the black trousers, shirt and jacket that he wore. He had worn muggle clothing before, but not often and not for a very long time.

He rapped on the front door, which was almost immediately opened by his master. Obviously Harry had been waiting for his arrival; hardly surprising, considering that he surely could not have enjoyed being with his so-called family.

"Thank goodness you're here!" said Harry, obviously relieved. Looking down the hallway, Severus could see why; it was obvious that the Dursleys' had been making the most of this last chance to bully and harass him.

"Do you have everything you need, Master?"

"Yes. Can we go now?"

He nodded, and shot one final glare in the direction of Vernon Dursley, not even wasting a greeting on him. He grabbed the trunk in one hand and wrapped his other arm around Harry, before Apparating to King's Cross Station in London.

"I won't be riding the train with you unless you order it, Master," said Severus quietly. "It would undermine my authority to be introduced to the new first-years as a slave rather than as a teacher."

"Okay." Harry looked at the ticket his slave held out for him, and burrowed his eyebrows. "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?"

"It's hidden from the muggles, Master. This way."

They arrived at platform nine, and Harry's attention was caught by a group of redheads, all standing around the division between platforms nine and ten. His eyes widened as he saw two identical-looking boys walk straight through the barrier, followed quickly by two people that was obviously their brothers.

"Now Ginny-" Molly Weasley broke off mid sentence. "Severus! You don't usually take the train to Hogwarts."

"And I am not now. I simply brought my master to the station."

Her eyes widened, and flicked to the boy standing nervously behind him. "Merlin, of course. I'd forgotten he was the same age as Ron. You must be Harry Potter dear, I'm Mrs. Weasley."

He shook her hand, instantly taking a liking to the plump woman. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley."

"And this is my daughter, Ginny… she'll be starting Hogwarts next year."

He offered his hand to the girl, but she flinched back, hiding behind her mother and peering out at him, her eyes wide.

"She's just a little shy, dear. I'll have to introduce you to my sons; my youngest is just your age."

"Then with my master's permission, I will leave him in your hands," said Severus, a little sourly. He had no desire to be confronted with a gaggle of Weasley children.

"Oh, um, sure," said Harry, eloquently. "I'll see you at Hogwarts."

Snape bowed low, and then disappeared from sight.

----------------

"_I think you need to learn who's in charge here."_

_He struggled desperately, but it was useless as the spell took control of him, forcing him to lean over a nearby table, binding him down. He felt a sudden cold breeze, and realised that at least some of his clothing had been magically removed from his body._

_What was going to happen to him? Mr. Jennings had never used corporal punishment on him. Never. Not even as a small child._

"_In time, you will no doubt become acquainted with the Cruciatus Curse. However, I think the personal touch will be far more effective for your first punishment."_

_He spoke an unfamiliar spell, maybe some sort of transfiguration, and then Severus' back exploded in agony as something descended on it._

----------------

"Harry!"

He and Ron both turned as a bushy-haired girl entered their compartment.

"Can I sit with you?"

"Um, sure. This is Ron Weasley." He paused for a second, trying to remember her name. "This is… Hermione?"

"Hermione Granger. Pleased to meet you."

They shook hands, and Hermione continued, "I'm so glad I ran into you and Professor Snape, Harry; those books he recommended were simply brilliant! I've nearly finished reading them, and I'm just aching to actually make the potions!"

"You've read the school books already?" asked Ron in disbelief.

"I read _them_ twice over! I met Harry here in Diagon Alley, and the teacher he was with recommended some other books that I should read."

Harry blinked. "You've read the school books twice over, and almost finished reading the others? In just a few weeks time?" He'd been doing a bit of reading himself over the summer, but hardly in such quantity.

"Well yes. Hey…" she turned to Ron, "did you know… you've got dirt on your nose. Just there."

----------------

Sitting at the Gryffindor table munching at his food, Harry was grateful that he had managed to convince the Sorting Hat not to put him in Slytherin. It wasn't that he particularly believed Ron's words about all the dark wizards having been in it – after all, Severus was Head of Slytherin and he didn't seem evil. But Draco Malfoy was in that house, and he had absolutely no desire to share a dormitory with him. Meeting him on the train had been bad enough.

Glancing at the head table, he thought that Severus was probably relieved about his Sorting, too. Being in the house belonging to his slave would have created too many problems, and he would not have wanted Snape to lose his position as Head of Slytherin.

Snape happened to look in his direction, and met his eyes, then bowed his head briefly. A gesture of subservience and respect, but one that hopefully very few people in the room would notice.

Ron looked at Harry, and followed the direction he was looking in. "Is that Professor Snape? The one Hermione was going on about? My brothers say he's an awful teacher, really snarky. Fred said he only ever gives house points to people from Slytherin."

George leaned over the table and said quietly, "He's not the nicest of teachers, but you can't insult him too much." He closed his eyes for a second, then said reluctantly, "We didn't tell you this at home because it's not something we like to gossip about, but you'll find out soon enough anyway, so it's better that you find out here than in his class. He's a slave, Ron."

Ron blinked, the other first-years frowned, and Hermione jerked around, horrified and hoping that she had misheard him. "_What?_ Slavery's illegal!"

"Not in the Wizarding World," Ron told her. "It's just really, really rare. My family are abolitionists, but… he's really a slave, and he teaches here? Who's his owner – Dumbledore?"

"No, it's not him; at least, he doesn't call him master, and he'd have to if he was his slave. Nobody knows who his owner is," Angelina told them.

"I think our parents know," said Fred, "but whenever we asked they just said it wasn't our business and we shouldn't treat him as anything other than a teacher."

Harry lowered his head as a third-year student chimed in with his own ideas over who Severus' master might be. He had known of course that Snape's slavery was not a secret, and that the other first-years would find out, but he had hoped that the subject wouldn't come up at least until the next day.

"Harry," said Hermione suddenly, interrupting another speaker. She was looking at him intensely, and he realised that she suspected the truth. "Why was Professor Snape with you in Diagon Alley a few weeks ago?"

The others on the table quietened as they took in her meaning. Snape was not a friendly fellow; he was not taken to helping out students, and as far as they knew he had no children.

"Does he belong to your parents?" asked one particularly dim-witted second-year.

"Don't be stupid, he's Harry Potter," hissed the girl next to him, lowering her voice to add, "His parents are dead."

Harry looked away from everyone, and realised that doing so meant looking straight at his slave. Severus was watching him, evidently having realised that something was going on at the Gryffindor table. He looked down for a second, confirming Snape's fears, and the slave just nodded reluctantly.

He breathed in, and then lifted his gaze back to those of his housemates. "I own him," he said quietly. "I only found out the day before we went to Diagon Alley."

Everyone at the table was silent, and he realised most of the room was too, save for a few quiet whisperings here and there. Dumbledore was looking at Harry, and McGonagall was sending a concerned look at Severus, who just staring into his plate.

"But – how?" whispered Hermione, feeling betrayed by the world that she had previously been so excited to enter.

"Apparently my parents bought him to save him from an abusive master. When they died, Dumbledore looked after him until I got my Hogwarts letter," he said, keeping his voice lowered so that only those nearby could hear his answer. He wanted to save Snape as much humiliation as possible.

He glanced over at the smug-looking son of the aforementioned abusive master. From the grins on the Slytherin table, he wondered if Draco had told everyone there even before Harry had let out the secret.

"But… you're only eleven," objected a fourth-year girl.

"Apparently it doesn't matter."

"So what you doing about Potions lessons?" This from Ron, who was too shocked to think about anything of actual importance right then.

"I'm not sure, but he's not teaching me, at least not in a class. He's not allowed to have authority over me."

Hermione was pale. "Can't you – can't you free him?"

"No, Miss Granger." It seemed that Snape had quit staring at his plate, and come over to the Gryffindor table. "My enslavement is irreversible. Now, if you would all kindly resume eating."

Nervously, a few of them picked up bits of food. Severus bowed once to Harry, and quickly left the room.


	7. Altered Lives

**Author's Notes**

Sorry for the lack of updates - I had exams, and then I needed a break from all types of writing, lol. But I'm back.

Just to clarify, there will be no pairings in this story for a long time. Harry is only eleven years old! Oh, and if you hadn't noticed, my flashbacks are generally not chronological. Sorry if that annoys anyone, I just write whatever scene I feel like at the time.

Oh, and my little challenge from last time is still very much open, and I have plenty of ideas for anyone that wants to give it a go but needs some help. Even if you've never written a fanfic in your life before, you should have a try. To repeat: _Write a story of at least 2000 words where Harry is a slave owner_.

----------------

_Severus frowned as his Mistress put her hand over her mouth, and fled back to the bathroom she had left only minutes before. This had been happening for days; it was surely more than just illness._

_He went to his room, and looked through the rack of potion vials. At least he had one talent that he could use to help his new owner._

_Picking an anti-nausea potion, he entered the big bathroom, where Lily was currently rinsing out her mouth. Silently he passed her the vial, and with a grateful look she drank the liquid, wincing at the taste._

"_That tastes worse than the vomiting!"_

"_I apologize, Mistress."_

"_It's Lily, remember?"_

_Snape hesitated. "Lily… are you – do you think you might be..."_

"_Pregnant?" She sighed. "I'm beginning to think I might be."_

_He lifted his eyebrows. "You don't want to be?"_

"_No! I mean, yes, I want to be. I want it more than anything. It's just… I don't like the thought of raising a child in this world… with Voldemort, and the Death Eaters…" She was silent for a moment, and then asked, "Do you know the spell? To check, I mean?"_

_He nodded._

"_Then… can you?"_

_He raised his wand, and murmured a brief incantation. A light surrounded his Mistress' stomach, and they looked at each other. She was definitely with child._

_Lily just stood there, unsure whether to be sad, or happier than she had ever been._

----------------

Severus stood inside the potions classroom, quietly waiting for the class of first-year Gryffindors and Slytherins to arrive. It was their second Potions lesson, but Horace Slughorn had taken their first, so Snape had yet to teach them.

It was also the class he was dreading. These were his Master's classmates, people that so far knew him not as a professor, but as a slave. Harry wasn't present, he was due to have a private lesson with him the following evening, but the combination of the Gryffindors – who would no doubt feel sorry for him – and the Slytherins - who would scorn him - was not a pleasant one.

The first to enter were two Gryffindor boys he had yet to identify. He shot them a glare at their over-loud conversation, and they quickly stopped talking and sat down. Apparently, being a slave didn't make his glares any less fearsome, something for which he was grateful.

The door opened again, to admit Miss Granger and the remaining Gryffindor boys. She was sending him pitying looks that simply made him want to throttle her. He supposed he should feel happy that she so hated his enslavement, but in all honesty, whilst in a classroom he'd far prefer to forget that it even existed.

Ten minutes later, and he was still waiting for the Slytherin boys. When they finally entered, it was with careless looks on their faces, as if they were doing nothing wrong, and they talked loudly at the tops of their voices about how "My father will have something to say about the quality of teachers at this school!"

He gritted his teeth, then forced the mask back into place. It was not an unusual reaction for students who had recently found out about his slavery, but like always he would not permit it to continue for long.

"Mr. Malfoy. I assume, based on your lateness, that you feel that you are already a master Potions maker. Therefore, can you please tell me all of the ingredients of a Polyjuice Potion?"

The blonde boy just ignored him, continuing his deeply unsubtle conversation about slave ownership with the other Slytherins.

"Ah, I see you have no wish to be here. In that case, you may go. Of course, to make up for the time you have lost, you will spend every evening for the rest of the week here, serving detention."

Malfoy finally turned his attention to the Professor. "I don't take orders from slaves."

"Indeed. Well, since this slave has the authority, as your Head of House, to expel you from this school, I suggest that you do as I say."

"My father would never let you do that."

"Your father, Mr. Malfoy, has no say in the matter. He may be on the board of governors, but where his own son is concerned he would be forbidden to do more than lodge a protest – one that, I assure you, he would lose. Now, I suggest you either sit down and stay quiet, or leave my classroom immediately."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "I don't think my father beat you enough, _Severus_."

He just lifted his eyebrows, showing no hint of emotion, despite the whisperings that it had caused. "Your father lost the right to do anything to me a long time ago, Mr. Malfoy. Now, as your detentions have already increased to a fortnight, I suggest that you try to avoid attempting to get any more."

For a moment, Malfoy looked as if he was going to rebel further, but then just turned around and left the classroom sulkily.

Snape watched him leave, and then turned back to the class as a whole. "Now, if you will all turn to page six of your textbooks, we will discuss the process involved in producing the Equalising Potion."

----------------

_Snape walked behind Lily and James as they entered the large Wizarding hospital, St. Mungo's. It was time for Lily's latest check-up, and Severus was accompanying them with the purpose of researching any potions that might be of use during the pregnancy._

"_Mistress?"_

_At first Lily continued walking, unused to being addressed in such a fashion, but James nudged her and she turned around._

_Snape bowed his head slightly, then held his palm out, his wand lying flat on it._

"_Severus?" she asked in confusion._

"_Slaves are not allowed to carry wands on the premises unless they work here, Mistress."_

_Lily winced, while James shook his head. "Why not? It's not like you can harm anyone anyway, not with your bond preventing it."_

"_It's the rules, Sir." There was no sense to it of course, it was just another way to demean and humiliate him. But there was nothing that Severus could do about that._

_Lily sighed, and took the wand, placing it in the pocket of her robe. They walked towards the front desk, each feeling decidedly less happy than they had just two minutes before._

----------------

"How was your first week?"

Harry glanced up, to find that it was the Headmaster who had spoken. "Good, Sir."

"You like it here, then?"

"Yes!" He paused. "I just wish…"

"And it does you credit, Harry. Have you had your first tutorial with Severus yet?"

"No… it's this evening."

"I wish that Professor Slughorn had been able to take both of your Potions classes, but apparently it wasn't possible. Remember, Harry, Severus has no authority in those sessions. I trust that you will not abuse the power that you hold over him."

"I wouldn't, Professor, really."

"Good." Dumbledore paused. "You have the power to do great good for him, Harry. I know that it is a great responsibility for an eleven-year-old, but don't ever think of it as a burden."

He left, leaving Harry staring after him.

----------------

_Severus stared at the wreckage of Godric's Hollow. Lily, his Mistress, dead, and with her, her husband James, the man Snape deeply disliked, but had tolerated for his Mistress' sake. And with them, his life as he knew it was also gone._

_He turned to face Dumbledore, the old man's eyes no longer twinkling, but rather grave. For once, Hogwart's Headmaster truly looked his age._

"_The baby?" Snape whispered, remembering the child he had cared for, both physically and emotionally._

"_I'm taking him to his mother's relatives. He will be protected there."_

"_Lily's relatives are muggles! You're raising Harry Potter as a muggle?"_

"_It's for the best, Severus." Dumbledore sighed, and looked in the other man's eyes. "You realise that he owns you now?"_

_He nodded, although the thought had actually not occurred to him. "Am I to go into the muggle world also?" he asked resignedly. Being owned by a baby was not a pleasing thought, nor being at the beck and call of his muggle relatives, but Snape was still too numb to really care._

"_No, you would never fit in there, and it's better for Harry to grow up without someone bound to obey his wishes. That kind of thing could influence him too badly. I'll make arrangements for you to be in my custody, Severus, at least until Harry comes to Hogwarts."_

_He nodded, gazing out onto the ruins of what had, for two years, been his home._


	8. Meeting Remus

**Author's Notes**

I didn't expect there to be this long a gap between this chapter and the last one. But I did manage to include a character that a number of people have asked for, so hopefully that makes up for it?

----------------

Snape's first night staying with Lily and James Potter – and their irritating friend Sirius Black – had gone better than expected. He had been treated like a person for probably the first time since the death of his original owner.

_He glanced up as he heard a knock on the door, and then his Mistress came in. He wondered if he should tell her that she had no need to knock, but decided that if she chose to give him some privacy, he was hardly going to argue with her._

"_James and I are going to Diagon Alley today, so if there's anything you need that Sirius hasn't already got you – Severus, it's freezing in here! Why didn't you do a warming charm? We're not the Malfoys, we will let you do magic."_

"_I can't," he told her quietly. "I don't have my wand."_

_She stared at him for a second, and then shook her head. "I should have thought of that. Damn Lucius. Okay, you can come with us this afternoon if you want, we'll get you a new one."_

"_Thank you, Mistress." He hadn't expected her to say otherwise, but despite that, the assurance that he would once again be able to perform magic was a tremendous relief._

----------------

"Severus?"

He turned round, glaring at the person who had the audacity to speak his name. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I'm here to see Dumbledore, but I have something to ask you, and it seemed easier to just come down to the dungeons than write you a letter later."

"What could you possibly have to ask of me?"

"The Wolfsbane potion. My supplier's ill at the moment, and I was hoping that I could pay you to make some for me."

He sighed. "You will have to ask my master. It is him that you would be paying."

"Master?" he blinked. "Of course… Harry's turned eleven now hasn't he? So he's at Hogwarts."

"Yes. And due here for a Potions tutorial within minutes, so if you remain I daresay that you can reacquaint yourself with him." Snape had no personal desire for the werewolf to stay, but he had a feeling that his Master would enjoy meeting one of his father's best friends.

"I will, thank you. What's he like?"

"He has his father's looks and his mother's ethics. Beyond that I have yet to ascertain."

"Well they're not a bad start. He treats you well, then."

"Indeed."

"I'm glad." Remus paused. "I was kind of afraid of what he might be like, being raised by Petunia. Lily never really liked her."

"With good reason. He has… not been treated well by her relatives."

He stared in horror. "They abused him?"

"Physically, not as far as I know, although I would not be surprised if it were true. Verbally and emotionally, without a doubt."

"Oh, god."

"Indeed." He turned as he heard footsteps, and seconds later Harry entered the Potions laboratory. Severus bowed low and greeted his master.

"Hi, Sev."

Snape wasn't overly happy at the shortening of his first name, but said nothing.

Harry turned enquiringly to the other occupant of the room, who was regarding him curiously. Quietly, Severus made the introductions.

"Master, this is Remus Lupin. He was a school friend of your father's. Lupin, this is my master, Harry Potter."

"It's good to meet you, Harry," said Remus with a smile on his face. "You look just like James – except for your eyes. They're definitely Lily's eyes."

"So I'm told." Harry beamed at meeting this connection to his parents, and shook Remus's hand. "It's great to meet you too, sir!"

"It's just Remus, Harry. I'm not one of your professors." He glanced over at Severus, and then back at his friend's son. "I'd like to talk to you properly, but since you're meant to be doing Potions, I'll leave it for another time. But I do have something I need to ask you, Harry."

"Ask me?" Harry blinked.

"I have a potion I need to take every month, and my current supplier is unable to make it at the moment. I've asked Severus to do it for me, but apparently he needs your consent. I'll pay you, of course."

Harry sighed. "If he wants to, then of course… but pay him, not me."

Severus raised his head at this incredulously. Even his teacher's salary went to Harry, with just that small allowance given to him for necessities. He'd never before been paid for a service rendered.

Remus smiled. "That's good of you, Harry. Thank you. So since he's given you the choice, will you do it for me, Severus?"

"Yes," said Severus, still distracted by the thought of what he could do with this money. He doubted that it would be a large amount – being a werewolf, Remus would hardly be rich – but any amount would be significant for him.

"Great, thank you! I'll contact you later about payment. I'd better let you get back to your tutorial Harry; hopefully I'll see you again sometime. Maybe talk to you about your parents."

"I'd like that a lot."

"I would, too. Goodbye, both of you." He left, leaving slave and master alone to begin their lesson.

----------------

"Hey, Remus."

_The werewolf entered his friends' house, greeting James and Sirius and giving Lily a light hug. As he drew back from her he frowned, seeing another figure standing at the back of the hallway, black robes covering him from neck to ankle._

"_Severus! Uh… I didn't expect to see you here."_

"_I live here," was all that the slave would say, sweeping past to ascend the stairs to his bedroom._

"_He – what?"_

"_We found out he was owned by Lucius Malfoy," said Lily quietly. "He was being abused, severely. So we bought him."_

"_Oh. OH. Lucius Malfoy… I can see why you did it." He paused, thinking it through. "I'm surprised you managed to get him to sell."_

"_I gave him that book he's been after for years," said James._

"_Oh, that would do it. So… Snape's living here now? That must be interesting."_

"_Especially as Sirius is presently living on the same floor as him," said Lily wryly._

"_Sirius? You finally moved out of Grimmauld Place? Thank goodness!"_

"_Yeah, well, I just couldn't stand it anymore. Not when I found out about… anyway, I'm gone. I still have to go back and get the rest of my stuff, but that's all. James and Lily are letting me stay here until I find my own place."_

"_Good. It's about time you got out of that house."_

----------------

The Potions tutorial had been interesting, and less like a 'lesson' than any that Harry had been to previously. Snape was unable to give him anything approaching an order, so all the instructions were in the form of requests, or just general information. Severus also performed any task that would not directly aid Harry in his learning, for instance fetching ingredients and slicing them himself.

Now Harry was sitting on his bed in the first-year Gryffindor dorm room, thinking. Just a few weeks ago, he had been a slightly odd, but generally normal boy, living in a normal house (in a not-so-normal cupboard under the stairs) with his normal, if somewhat horrible, aunt, uncle and cousin. Now he was a wizard, a celebrity, and a slave owner.

He could still barely believe that slavery was legal in this world. He welcomed Hermione's efforts to find a way of freeing Severus, although the man himself had assured him that she would fail. At least he knew that his mother had not considered Snape to be property, that she had done it to save him from an abusive master. After meeting Lucius Malfoy in Diagon Alley, the thought of being at that man's mercy was enough to make Harry feel seriously ill.

Snape had seemed shocked when he'd told Mr. Lupin to give the money for the potion to Severus, not to Harry. Did that mean that he didn't have much money? He'd signed the form for that allowance for Snape without truly knowing how much it was worth. Maybe he could raise it; it wasn't like he was short of cash himself.

Yawning widely, Harry settled down to sleep. It would have to wait until the morning.


	9. Liquorice Wands and Lemon Drops

**Author's Notes**

Once again, thank you to everyone that has reviewed. It's nice to know that people are enjoying the story. Comments and constructive criticisms are, as always, very welcome.

I have to say, I quite like this chapter. Hopefully you'll all agree and I won't just be deluding myself that it's good. And I finally got to use a chapter title I thought up weeks ago!

----------------

_Severus felt strange, walking into Ollivander's wand shop in the company of his Mistress. He had not set foot through those doors since around three months after his eleventh birthday._

_James had gone to purchase something Quidditch-related, leaving Lily to pay for the wand. She walked up to the counter, leaning against it, and smiled as the grey-haired shopkeeper appeared._

"_Mrs. Potter? It's been a long time since I've seen you in here. Willow, ten and a quarter inches long wasn't it? Good for charm work. Don't tell me you've broken it?"_

"_No, it's fine," Lily answered with a smile. "I'm here for Severus. His previous owner still has his wand so he needs a new one."_

_Ollivander's eyebrows rose slightly, and he nodded. "Well, step forward Severus. Now, your first wand was mahogany wasn't it? Try this one, and this…"_

_Snape picked up each wand, giving one after another a small flick. Eventually he felt the connection of a wand choosing him, and was promptly informed that it was eleven inches long, also mahogany, and particularly good for defensive spells._

_In the current climate of near-war, he supposed that that was a good thing._

----------------

Harry had something of a grin on his face. The first-year Gryffindors and Slytherins had had their first flying lesson today, and thanks to the malicious actions of Draco Malfoy, Harry had taken his first flight, finding himself to be a natural on a broomstick – and leading to Professor McGonagall awarding him a place as Seeker on the house Quidditch team.

Okay, so as yet he had little idea of how to play the Wizarding sport. But he would learn. Flying had been exhilarating, and he couldn't help but be proud of being the youngest Seeker in a _century_.

He arrived at the entrance to Dumbledore's office, and paused, wondering how to get in. Fortunately, he did not have too much trouble, since the Headmaster himself walked up to him about thirty seconds later.

"Did you wish to speak with me, Harry?"

He turned, smiling at the grandfatherly man (who, he suspected, was about as far from a typical grandfather as you could get without being an blue-skinned alien toddler).

"Yeah, I have a question for you, if you don't mind."

"Well, come in then!" Dumbledore made a sweeping gesture towards the presently hidden entrance and proclaimed, "Liquorice Wands!"

The gargoyle moved, revealing the spiral staircase it guarded. Harry followed the Headmaster up the stairs, and through the oak door at the top, feeling a little dizzy from all the spinning.

"Have a seat, Harry. Lemon drop?"

"Uh, no thank you, Professor."

"Are you sure? They're very tasty."

"Not right now, thank you."

"In that case Harry, I hope you don't mind if I have one." He popped one into his mouth, and proceeded to talk despite the mouth-occupying sweet. "Now, what was it you wanted to see me about?"

"Professor, I was wondering just how much I'm giving Severus? Money, I mean? I don't know if it's enough. It's just someone asked him to make a potion last night, and I said he could take the money himself, and he looked so surprised, I wondered -"

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "You are thinking of increasing his allowance then, Harry?"

"Um, yes, I mean - if he needs it, and if I can afford it… I don't really know the value of Wizarding money yet, so I don't know…"

"I assure you, Harry, that you need have no fear for your finances. Your parents left you a sizeable sum of money, and as Severus' owner, you have been receiving regular payments from his salary for the past ten years.

"As for his allowance, as his guardian I have been unable to give him anything more than strictly necessary for his survival, Harry. The money is yours, and with your absence, I could not take too much of it. I am delighted to hear that you wish to increase it."

"Oh, so… what do I do? How much should I give him?"

"For now, Harry, I recommend that you give him half again what his allowance has been. If you wish to increase it further at a later date that will be your choice. As for how to do it, I will personally obtain the forms necessary, and you will simply have to sign your consent. And inform Severus, of course."

"Okay… that's great. Thank you, Professor."

"You're very welcome, Harry. Now, how about that lemon drop?"

----------------

_With a wand in his pocket, Severus felt like himself again for the first time since the death of Mr. Jennings. He was no longer just a possession, no longer defenceless - he was a wizard._

_They stepped into the bookstore, and Lily turned to him. "If you want to, Severus, you can choose a couple of books for yourself. I know it must be a while since you've had a chance to read for pleasure."_

_He stared at her. She was offering to buy him books? And not for any particular task, not to aid him in his duties as a slave, but simply for him to enjoy? True, the books would still legally belong to her, but she had no guarantees that he would pick anything of interest to her._

"_Anything at all, Mistress?"_

_She smiled slightly. "Well, maybe try and avoid instruction manuals in the Dark Arts! But anything else is fine."_

_Was he dreaming? "Thank you, Mistress."_

_She smiled again, and left to explore the shop. He stared after her for a moment, then shook himself, and began looking round the shelves._

_Half an hour later, he was on the first floor, still browsing the racks of books, simply delighting in the environment. Lily found him, and smiled as she realised that he was so focused that he hadn't even noticed her approach._

"_All this time, and you've only picked out two books? Are there so few good ones here?"_

_He turned around, surprised. "You did say a couple, Mistress."_

"_Mmm, but then I didn't realise just how much you liked it. Pick a couple more, but make it quick; James is waiting for us downstairs."_

_His eyes widened. "Are you sure, Mistress? You shouldn't spend so much of your money on me –"_

"_I'll spend my money on what I want to, thank you. And as it happens, I want to buy you some books. Now hurry up and select the four you want."_

_Mindful of her command to be speedy, he quickly chose a couple of recently published journals, which would hopefully contain all the newest spells and potions that he had missed over the past few months. Picking up the two books that he had previously selected, both old favourites that he wished to become reacquainted with, he followed his mistress to the counter, where she gestured for him to lay the volumes on top of the fairly sizeable pile that she and her husband were buying for themselves._

_James glanced through the four titles with idle curiosity, checking at the same time that Severus hadn't chosen anything that the Potters already owned. Considering the scholarly nature of the books, it was unsurprising that he hadn't._

"_You know, Severus," Lily commented as she handed over a large number of galleons to the shopkeeper, "we have quite a lot of books at home. You're welcome to borrow any that you wish to."_

_While he doubted that Potter would have anything worth reading, it was entirely possibly that his mistress might. He thanked her honestly, and then gathered up the bags of books. _

_Lily started to protest that she could carry some of the purchases, but James put his hand on her arm, speaking to her in an undertone. "It's his job, Lily. And the only one he has at the moment. Let him feel useful."_

_She wasn't entirely sure that she agreed with that argument, but subsided. _

----------------

"Severus?"

He glanced up, to see his master standing in the doorway of his office. "Harry," he greeted, bowing slightly. "Is there something that you need me to do for you?"

Harry made a face. "When you say my name like that, it sounds like it's just another word for master."

He smiled, briefly and sardonically. "In effect, it is, Harry."

"Yeah well, that doesn't mean I have to like it." Harry paused for a second and then said, "Anyway, I've come to tell you – I'm raising your allowance. Dumbledore's getting me the paperwork, and you'll be getting half again what you've had until now."

Snape analysed him thoughtfully, assessing whether he was being told the truth. Satisfied, he bowed slightly. "Thank you, Master. You are very generous."

"It's nothing. You're the one earning the salary, not me… it's not fair that I should get most of the money instead of you."

"I am your property, Master. Even my allowance belongs to you." Not something he was happy about, of course, but it was the truth. He paused for a second. "Will you still wish Lupin to pay me for the potion or should I direct him to you now?"

"No! I mean, of course he's still paying you. You're the one making the potion."

"Thank you, Harry."

Harry paused, remembering something that he had been thinking about recently. "Severus… why is it that you keep mentioning your slavery? I mean, what you just said about being my property… you've said a number of things like that to me. I'd've thought you'd prefer to just forget you were a slave."

Snape looked down for a second, then back at his master, and kept eye contact, driving home the seriousness of his answer. "Because it's in my own self-interest, Harry. _You_ are the one who needs to be reminded of my slavery, not I. Because as much as I may hate it, I do belong to you, completely, and if you don't realise that, if you don't properly understand it, then I will most likely be the one to pay the price."


	10. On Hallowe'en Night

**Author's Notes**

Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter; I hope you all enjoy this one.

I'm thinking of bringing a second slave into the story, if only for a few chapters. I have 3 possibilities in mind: Colin Creevey (and obviously his brother), an adult canon character who has yet to appear (someone from the Order?), or an OC related in some way to Snape. Who would people prefer?

----------------

Harry thought a lot about Snape's words over the next few weeks, in amongst lessons and time with his friends. He also received his first Quidditch lesson from the Gryffindor team captain, Oliver Wood, and found himself greatly looking forward to the future team practices and inter-house matches.

It was with some surprise that he came to realise that he had been at Hogwarts for over two months. He felt finally at home, in a way that he had never felt at the Dursley's. Magic was becoming easier for him, and lessons more fun. And for perhaps the first time he could remember, he had real friendships; people he had grown to care about, and crucially, people that also cared about him.

If only he could free Severus, then everything would be perfect.

----------------

_Severus sat in his office next to the Potions classroom, simply staring dismally across the room._

_For ten years Dumbledore had had custody of him. Albus; his friend, his mentor, the man that went out of his way to make Severus feel like a free person. For almost a decade, he had barely acted like a slave. True, he had had little money, and had to get Dumbledore's permission to do certain activities, but there had been no one he was forced to call Master. He had even been allowed to teach, to have authority over a school full of free children._

_In just a few minutes, that would change. His Master, Harry James Potter, had turned eleven years old, and would be arriving at Hogwarts right now if he had not already. Would be told of his inheritance, of his ownership of Snape._

_He was Lily's son. Surely he could not be too unlike his mother. Lily had been a wonderful Mistress, had bought him off Malfoy at presumably great expense, just to save him from being abused. Surely Harry would follow in her footsteps._

_But then, Harry had not been raised by his mother. And he was an eleven-year-old boy, suddenly granted complete authority over someone far older than he was. Could he really resist using that power?_

----------------

"Severus, come with us," said Harry quietly.

It was Hallowe'en, and an unkind comment from Ron had just resulted in the two of them having to rescue Hermione from a huge, full-grown mountain troll. McGonagall had just dismissed them (from the girls' toilets of all places) but he needed to speak to Snape.

Severus had been standing quietly as the Deputy Mistress first reprimanded, and then reluctantly congratulated his master. At his name he came instantly, glancing back at McGonagall. She pursed her lips, obviously not approving of Harry's order, but she could say and do nothing. Snape was Harry's to command as he saw fit.

They left the toilets, and Harry waited until they were a few corridors away before stopping and turning around.

"Why didn't you go with the other teachers to the dungeons?" he asked bluntly. Ron added his own agreement to the question, while Hermione just looked between them enquiringly.

Snape sighed. He hadn't realised that he'd been seen - and by his master of all people, the one person he could not refuse to answer.

"I… suspected the troll to be a diversion, Master," he answered reluctantly.

"A diversion to what?"

He hesitated. "There is… something hidden in the school at the moment. It's not my place to tell you what it is, unless of course you order me to do so. I suspected that somebody might be using the troll to distract the teachers while they went after it."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Who did you suspect?"

He didn't want to answer, but it had been a direct question, a type of order. "Professor Quirrell," he said reluctantly.

"That stuttering idiot?" said Ron incredulously.

"He didn't always stutter."

"So what's hidden here? Harry –"

"I'm not going to order him to tell us, Ron. I want to know as much as you do but it wouldn't be right."

Hermione, who had opened her mouth to reprimand the redhead, closed it again and nodded in agreement.

"But come on –"

"Mr. Weasley." Now that he was assured of his master's opinion on the matter, he could take some authority here. "Mr. Potter may be my master, but _you_ are my student. I can easily find some extra work for you if you have nothing productive to do with your time."

"Harry –" Ron protested.

"Hush, Ron," said Hermione, at the same time as Harry replied, "I'm not going to interfere with his teaching, Ron."

"May I go now, Master?" Snape asked stiffly.

"Yes."

"Thank you." He bowed, and headed back to his office.

----------------

_He stood at the entrance to Dumbledore's office, dread filling him. If Harry Potter was not like his mother, if he was more like Lucius Malfoy… in half an hour he could be stripped naked and writhing in pain on the floor, with Dumbledore unable to do a thing to stop it. The thought of Dumbledore watching such degradation was almost worse than the memory of his treatment in the Black family home, in front of Lily Potter._

_He heard Dumbledore's call, and entered quickly. He glanced at the dark-haired boy, flicking his eyes up to the scarred forehead to confirm that it was, indeed, his master, and then fell to his knees, lowering his head to the floor in absolute submission._

"_I vow to serve and obey you at all times, my master. I am yours, to do with as you wish."_

_There was silence for a moment, and he could hear his heart beating fast in fear. At last Dumbledore prompted his Master, and he was allowed to rise to his feet. He kept his head bowed until given permission to raise it._

_When he finally looked straight at his master, and saw the apprehensive expression on his face, the relief was so great that he struggled to remain on his feet._


	11. Sara

**Author's notes**

Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter, and to those of you who offered helpful comments and suggestions. Also, I apologise for the two mistakes I made in chapter 10, both of which were picked up on by multiple people!

This is an incredibly quick update I know, being less than 24 hours after my last – don't expect it to happen very often!

----------------

_Alistair Jennings looked at the small baby boy in his arms. It was almost impossibly tiny, appearing sweet and innocent, beautiful. He glanced at the miniature fingers, perfect in every detail, and then turned the hand over to reveal the tattoo-like image that forever marked this innocent child as a slave._

_He lifted the baby to his shoulder in a soft cuddle. "It'll be okay, Severus," he murmured. "I'll take care of you."_

----------------

"You can't be serious, Albus. It's bad enough that he has one slave, but to have two… it will surely corrupt him."

"Do you have another suggestion, Minerva? Is there somebody else on our side who can afford the price they are asking for?"

She sighed. "We could group together for it. Maybe between all of us we can raise the funds."

"Even assuming that your idea worked, it would be too clear how desperately we want the child. Montgomery would raise the price even higher. No, I think Mr. Potter is our best chance in this situation. As you said, he already has one slave; it will not look overly suspicious for him to purchase another."

"Are you sure this is wise, Albus?"

"I believe so. I have faith in young Harry, and after all, he will not be the one to raise her."

----------------

"Ah, Harry, Severus. I was hoping to speak to the two of you."

Both looked up from the potion they were in the process of transferring into vials. "Professor Dumbledore," said Harry, surprised to see him.

"I have a very serious request to make of you, Harry."

He blinked at the ominous-sounding words. "What is it?"

"There is an aristocratic pureblood family in southern England who own a young female slave," Dumbledore told them. "Seven years ago she gave birth to a baby girl, who was immediately sold. The buyer put down a deposit on the child, but wished to wait until she grew older before paying the rest. Two days ago, the buyer announced that he could no longer afford to pay."

Snape understood the point of his speech almost immediately. "You wish for my master to purchase the child."

"What?" Harry stared at them.

"You are the only one who can afford the price my boy. No one else on the side of the Abolitionists is rich enough, and we cannot allow a seven-year-old child to be owned by a former Death Eater if we have any means at our disposal to prevent it."

"I can't raise a child," said Harry, still rather dazed.

"Nobody is expecting you to, my dear boy. Molly Weasley, the mother of your friend Ron, has volunteered to take her in. I believe she is quite looking forward to having another child in her home.

"I know we are asking a lot of you, Harry. The price will be very expensive, but I do not think that it will leave you poor."

"It won't," said Severus, thinking of the huge mounds of coins he had seen inside Harry's vault.

"I just have to buy her?" asked Harry, "Nothing else?"

"Not now, at least. In the future you will be responsible for her in the same way that you are now for Severus, but most likely not for a long time."

"Oh." He stared at the silvery green potion, thinking. He turned many thoughts over in his head, but eventually he always came back to the same one. He could not leave a seven-year-old child to be bought by someone like Lucius Malfoy.

----------------

Harry walked into the large room, with the slave owner Mr. Montgomery at his side. Behind them walked Severus and Professor Dumbledore.

"Here we are. Alice!"

The young slave looked to be in her mid to late twenties, with long black hair and a pale complexion. Next to her was an equally dark-haired seven-year-old girl, swinging her legs under her seat.

"Master," the woman answered, rising immediately and bowing low.

"This is the mother," said her owner, with the air of someone selling puppies and showing off the best qualities of the bitch that had given birth to them. "She is in perfect health and is obedient and well-behaved."

Harry's eyes were on the little girl. He had expected to see a subdued, abused child, but in fact she looked just like all the muggle children he had seen in his old primary school. Somehow, that just made the knowledge that she was property all the more horrible.

"Bring the child here," Montgomery commanded, and the woman unwillingly lifted her daughter and brought her to Harry. Alice's face was pale and worried; obviously she was near tears at the thought of being separated from her child.

"If you wish a medical report on the girl, I can send for a healer," the bastard offered.

"No, it's fine."

"I must say, I'm curious as to what you plan to do with her, with you still being in school and all. I assume your other slave is to look after her?"

"No." He didn't elaborate, having no wish to engage in conversation with this… man.

Montgomery shrugged. "Well, I don't care what you do with her."

Dumbledore interrupted. "Perhaps the two of us should let Harry spend some time with the child and her mother."

He shrugged again, and the two left, leaving Harry alone with three slaves.

"It's okay," said Severus abruptly as the door closed. "My master has no plans to harm your daughter."

Alice looked from one to the other, and then her eyes widened before sagging with relief. "You're an Abolitionist."

Harry gave her a weak smile, and gestured to the child. "What's her name?"

"Sara."

"Hello, Sara," he greeted somewhat uncertainly.

She gazed back at him. "Are you my new master? Mummy said someone was coming for me and I had to be good for him."

He choked slightly. "Yeah, I guess I will be." He turned to Alice. "My friend's Mum, Mrs. Weasley, is going to raise her."

"She already has seven offspring of her own," added Snape. "Sara will be well taken care of."

"I don't know how to thank you," said Alice, just before she started to cry in earnest. Neither man knew what to do; Harry was a child who had little experience with crying adults, whereas Snape was used to making people cry rather than comforting them.

Thankfully, she managed to get herself under control, and looked up with a sad smile. "Just make sure she's okay, please? She's my baby."

"She will be fine." Snape hesitated. "When I was sold as an infant, my mother secretly passed a letter to me through my owner. Perhaps you should do the same."

Her eyes widened with the idea, and then she put Sara on the floor while she hastened to find some parchment and a quill.

While Alice wrote, Harry began talking to the small girl. After a couple of minutes he was shakily handed a five-foot piece of parchment, while Alice picked up her daughter, clinging to her as she said the goodbye she would be unable to do once her master came back into the room.

"You know, they both look a bit like you," said Harry to Severus in an undertone.

Snape glanced at him. "It is entirely possible that we are related, Master. With so few slaves left in the Wizarding World, we tend to be interbred, and do not always know our own parentage. Alice may well be my sister, niece or cousin of some description. You could find out by consulting the slave registry office records."

"Oh." As often happened in matters concerning slavery, Harry had no idea of what to say.

"I hope we are related," said Alice softly as she looked up from her now-crying child. "I'd like to think that Sara had family looking out for her."

The door opened, and Mr. Montgomery came back in, followed closely by the Headmaster. "So," said the former, rubbing his hands together eagerly, "have you made a decision yet?"

"I'm buying her," said Harry firmly.

A smile broke out on his face. "Good, good. Now I've taken the liberty of bringing the paperwork in, so if you have the galleons…"

"I have them here," said Dumbledore quietly, bringing out a large bag, full of coins that he had taken from Harry's Gringotts vault.

"Fantastic. Well, Mr. Potter, if you will sign here after I have added my signature…"

The paperwork was completed, and Severus was reminded abruptly of his last sale, to Lily Potter. He glanced at Sara as his master finished signing the parchment, and saw the girl shiver as the magic went through her, bonding her to her new master. Alice lifted her daughter's hand, studying the changes to the tattoo placed there.

"Well come on girl, hand over the child," said Montgomery impatiently.

Alice stood up, once again hugging her daughter to her. Slowly and reluctantly she passed Sara over to Severus. In many ways this was the hardest thing that Alice had ever had to do, but at least Sara would be going to people who cared about her. She would not grow up like Alice herself had done, kept out of the way until she was old enough to serve her master.

Dumbledore gave Alice a sad smile, and then gestured for Harry and Severus to follow him out of the room. Snape felt uncomfortable with the little girl in his arms; the only child he had previously held had been Harry, when he was less than one year old.

As Sara found herself being taken out of her mother's presence, she screamed. Though young, she was old enough to understand some of what was happening to her, and her cries made her mother once again break down in tears.

----------------

**Author's note**

I know I've probably made Sara seem a bit younger than her actual age in this chapter. It was kind of deliberate; I decided that in this situation her mother would probably treat her like a three-year-old, picking her up and hugging her tightly. I hope it worked okay.


	12. His Master's Life

**Author's Notes**

I'm sorry for the really long gap between updates. I've been busy, and I've also had a fairly large dose of writer's block. Sadly, neither of those things are likely to go away in the immediate future, as I have a dissertation to research and exams to revise for.

Anyway I wanted to post something for you all, even though it's pretty short, so here you go. You will probably notice that, once again, I've "adapted" events from the Philosopher's Stone to fit into my alternate universe.

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Severus watched as Molly Weasley cuddled Sara against her chest, trying to quiet her tears. The little girl had been weeping continuously ever since they had taken her away from her mother.

In a strange way, he almost envied her. His childhood had been _wonderful_ compared to that of most slaves, but compared to most free people, it had been very lonely. He had no mother, no siblings, and his father-figure had also been his master. Sara might never see her biological mother again, but at least she would have a large family that cared about her.

He turned as Dumbledore approached him. The headmaster had been talking to Mr. Weasley in the kitchen, going over arrangements for the child's care. His master was currently upstairs, talking to the Weasley girl.

"I think Molly and Arthur will take excellent care of Sara," said Dumbledore in satisfaction as he arrived at Snape's side. "She will no doubt have a better childhood than even Harry had."

"She will still be a slave," he responded dryly, despite his earlier thoughts. He despised the Dursleys for what they had done to Harry, but at least his master was free.

"Yes, I know. I wish that I could change that but that is something even I cannot do."

He nodded in angry agreement, and surveyed the crying child for a moment before turning toward the door. "I will fetch my master. It is time for us to return to Hogwarts."

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"_I feel bad, taking him away from his mother."_

"_He's better off with you. He has a chance at a normal childhood, no abuse."_

_Jennings nodded, and moved the blanket back to reveal the tiny face below. He touched the baby's cheek gently, and looked up at his friend soberly. "Yes. But he will never be free."_

"_He'll be as close as you can make him."_

"_Close isn't good enough, Linda. Nowhere near good enough."_

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Snape picked out the thickest of his black robes, wrapping it firmly around himself. The weather had recently taken a firm dive into "cold", with frost lightly covering the ground each morning. Two teachers had already been outside defrosting the Quidditch pitch ready for the Gryffindor-Slytherin match starting in half an hour.

He wondered who exactly he was supposed to support. He was Head of Slytherin House - it was his people, his team, the house he himself had been in as a teenager. His loyalty _should_ lie with Slytherin. However, Harry Potter was playing Seeker for the opposite side, and wishing for his master's defeat went against all the instincts of a trained slave.

He stepped to the door, and frowned as he saw something lying halfway underneath it. He bent to pick it up, and then became absolutely furious as he realised what it was.

A dog's collar, with "Property of Harry Potter" engraved on it.

Draco Malfoy's idea of a suitable present, no doubt.

He drew out his wand, levitated the hated item, and then spoke a curse in a harsh whisper. He watched in grim pleasure as the thick leather burned in scorching blue flames.

Adjusting his robes, he curtly commanded the door to open, and then headed out of the dungeons. The ferocious expression on his face sent several young first-year girls running out of his way in fear.

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He lifted his eyebrows at the _Potter for President_ banner flying over the Gryffindor section of the crowd. Not a particularly _apt_ slogan, really, not unless there was some kind of presidency available that he had no knowledge of…

He seethed silently as Madam Hooch looked pointedly at the Slytherin team captain as she cautioned all of the players to play a fair game. He was not, however, sure whether he was more unhappy with the Quidditch teacher for implicitly accusing his Slytherins, or with his Slytherins for so often doing what she accused them of.

Being distinctly unimpressed by the commentary from a boy he found particularly annoying, Lee Jordan, he tuned it out as much as possible, instead watching the game closely. He found himself reluctantly choosing to support his master, inwardly cursing himself for being the _good little slave_ - but at least he always remained silent during these occasions, so his Slytherins would not suspect his betrayal of their team.

He glanced up at his master, and realised with shock that Harry's broom was jerking out of control. Angrily he looked around the stand and saw Quirrell looking in his master's direction, muttering rapidly under his breath. Quirrell's eyes never once blinked.

Severus swore under his breath, and then turned back to his master. He began chanting himself, trying desperately to save his master's life. _Harry's_ life.

It worked, but not well enough. Harry was still managing to cling to his broom, but it was zigzagging around madly, and he doubted that his master's grip could hold on for much longer.

Suddenly a cry of "Fire!" went up around him, distracting his attention. He looked, almost petrified, back into the sky, half expecting to see Harry falling rapidly down to earth, but breathed deeply with relief as he saw his master climb onto his now steady and sedate broomstick.

Looking around, he saw that Quirrell too had been distracted. He searched for the fire's culprit, and his eyes fixed on his master's friend, Hermione Granger. She gave him a discreet nod, and he nodded back gratefully.

_Good girl_.

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"I saw you muttering and I knew it couldn't be you," said Granger in explanation. "You'd never hurt Harry – and even if you wanted to, you couldn't. Killing him would probably kill you. So I looked at Professor Quirrell, and he was muttering too. Fire was the first thing I could think of to break his concentration."

"You did well," he told her. Compliments for Gryffindors came rarely from his lips, but she had after all just saved his master's life.

"Yeah, thank you Hermione," said Harry fervently. "And you too, Severus. I could have broken my neck if you hadn't started chanting the counter-curse."

"I'm sure someone would have levitated you before you reached the ground," he replied.

"Yeah well, thanks anyway."

"You are welcome, Master."

Harry breathed in deeply. He still seemed a little shaky from the fright. "I think I need to go and sit down."

Severus nodded in agreement, but cautioned quietly, "It's obvious that Quirrell wishes you injured or dead. I suggest that you be very careful from now on, Master."

"I will." Harry and his friends left as Severus bowed low.

He straightened, and then fingered his wand in its holster as he came to a decision. He might not yet have enough proof to have Quirrell arrested, but he could certainly go and give the man a strong warning about exactly what might happen to a person who deliberately endangered the life of Harry James Potter.


End file.
